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It`s that time of year again….a slight chill in the morning and evening air,the evenings drawing in….autumn is here! Be sure to pop along to this local festival for an entertaining evening if you are in the area on October 7th,when the Visitor Center car park becomes the focal point for the annual `Kurokawa Onsen Thanksgiving Festival`.

Some food and drink stalls will be opening from 3pm in the afternoon,with events for children scheduled to start at 4pm. Various local bands will be playing on the stage throughout the evening,with a Kagura performance from 8:30 and Yamanami Taiko from 9:30pm. If you want to join in some silliness (past years have included bottom sumo contests!) then come to the main events area from around 7:30pm. Throughout the evening raffle tickets will be on sale,and the main prizes are usually vouchers for an overnight stay at a Kurokawa ryokan! Please note that the raffle draw takes place rather late,from 10pm,and is followed by fireworks to round off proceedings at about 11pm.

If you are coming to Kurokawa by car,please follow signs to the overflow carpark a few minutes out of Kurokawa on route 442 past the Cosmos gas station,a shuttle bus will operate from the start of the festival until late.

On Sunday October 8th,a parade of children in costume and a portable shrine will start at 11:40 from a point across from the Cosmos gas station and follow a route along Kawabatadori Street to the police station. The main parade,advertised as an `Edo time slip` starts from midday and will follow the same route.

If you happen to be in the area don`t miss this fun, local event in Kurokawa Onsen!

This year,the Kurokawa Onsen Kanshasai or `Onsen Thanksgiving Festival` will take place as usual over the weekend of October 1st and 2nd. Starting from 3pm on october 1st there will be a variety of food stalls,games,displays and events ,mostly located in the car park of the Visitor Center. There will be lottery tickets on sale,and the draw (prizes last year included Kurokawa Onsen accommodation coupons) will take place at 10pm on the main stage,followed by fireworks.

I just missed the `bottom sumo` last year,or rather,they decided at the last moment to make the men do `bottom sumo` and the women do arm wrestling……These events are scheduled for 7:30pm,but do arrive early if you want to join in as they often change the schedule of events at the last moment

On Sunday October 2nd there will be a colourful parade advertsised as an `Edo period time slip` starting from the San-ai Rest House around 10:30am,proceeding down into the streets of central Kurokawa and then back. Please be prepared for traffic congestion,with some streets (mainly Shimokawabata and Kamikawabata dori) closed to traffic between 11:30am and 1:30pm. During the weekend of the festival there will be extra parking available just further along route 442 (keep going past the Gas Station,through the tunnel and it will be signposted on the right) with a shuttle bus provided.

Japanese poster and simple map showing parade route on October 2nd and extra parking area (in yellow)

Once a year,on JUNE 26th, you can bathe in the public outdoor baths at any of the 24 ryokan belonging to the Kurokawa Onsen Ryokan Association for FREE! If you are a day-tripper you may use the baths between 10am and 3pm,ryokan guests however may bathe from 8:30am to 9pm. Pick up an English map from the Visitor Center and of course,don’t forget to pop into the reception of the ryokan first before heading off to use the baths!

Sounds like a fun afternoon tomorrow (Sunday 13th July) in Kurokawa with a rather unusual table tennis tournament.
Stop by from midday and perhaps you`ll have a chance to have a go,but the twist is,there are no bats,instead you use a slipper,washing bowl,fan,onsen-hopping token or pot lid?!?!?!?

For the actual tournament (prizes awarded)I believe there may be a small charge to join. Teams are expected from various onsens in Kyushu and even Yamaguchi.

It will take place in the area behind the Visitor Center in Kurokawa Onsen from midday onwards.

This gives you an idea,doesn`t look easy with those Onsen-hopping tokens!

Just a quick mention of the Firefly-watching tour each evening which is is arranged for guests staying at the Ryokan (Japanese Inns) in Kurokawa. The evening tour must be booked during the day (until 4pm) at your inn,and then a bus will pick you up and take you to a nearby viewing area at 8pm for approximately an hour. Twenty places are available on the bus.

The tour runs every evening until July 31st,but not in the rain,and sightings are highly likely,but cannot always be guaranteed!

Apparently there are three kinds of firelies,the Genji (largest) Heike and Hime (smallest) which all give a slightly different glow or pulse of light!

Genji

Heike

Hime

Please DON`T take flash photos,leave rubbish,trample the firefly habitat or make loud noises when you are viewing the fireflies!

Below is the original Japanese poster from the Kurokawa Onsen website (hopefully this kind of information will eventually be available on the English website when it is up and running later this year)

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Resident in Kyushu for over 20 years and fortunate to be living in this beautiful corner of Aso close to a number of onsens including Kurokawa, which I love to visit with friends or my guests from overseas. Keeping this semi-official blog in English for the Kurokawa Onsen Ryokan Association now gives me the perfect excuse...I just HAVE to try all the (public outdoor) baths I possibly can!